Reading Time: 3 minutes The Fifth Discipline is my all-time favourite book on leadership for change and development.  The author Peter Senge is a master of systems thinking and organisational learning. The fifth discipline that he explores in this book is the commitment and capacity for an organisation to learn at every level. He is a champion of decentralizing the role of leadership to foster the contribution of all.  The Learning Organisation is one that is committed to developing all of its people as learners to share vision, adapt to increasingly complex challenges and strive to ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Dysfunctional team behaviours can derail our mission objectives and make the workplace miserable. When Commanders and subordinates lock horns over decisions, when colleagues are on different wavelengths, when teams fail to develop trust and sweep conflict under the carpet, when leaders refuse to be accountable, it can make for a traumatic experience for all involved. Commanders need a wide-ranging set of command, leadership, management and training skills, but if alongside all the other skills they develop, they lack healthy team-building, their unit will not be reachin ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes This book has two great strengths – firstly its inspiring stories. Beginning with Captain Will Swenson’s heroic actions in Afghanistan showing heroic courage alongside empathy for his troops (told also by Simon Sinek), she offers stories that inspire and surprise. From politicians Jacinda Arden and Volodomy Zelensky, to business, academy and military leaders, to informal leaders in the community during COVID-19, Ferguson illustrates how leadership is for all of us. It is expressed by speaking encouraging words to a colleague or being transparent about seeking ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Defence Strategic Review urges a rapidly evolved integrated Force that harnesses affects across domains including Cyber (p.54). It recommends “cyber and information capabilities must be scaled up and optimised” which must include focusing on “building and sustaining a trained Defence cyber workforce.” (p.64) Challenges of training, however, include recruiting and retaining the right staff, equipping them to keep pace with the exponential changes in technological capability, and helping them develop appropriate ethical frameworks for their work. This author ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes RAAF has had a remarkable history and chaplaincy has grown and developed alongside and in support. Sky Pilot narrates the development of chaplaincy organisationally and tells stories of RAAF chaplains on whose shoulders and reputation chaplains of today serve. RAAF grew to be the fourth largest Air Force at one time in WWII (numbering 164,000+ as well as 18,000+ in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force). In parallel, chaplaincy grew from 6 at the beginning of the war to 250 at any one time. There was a total of 370 chaplains over the war including 2 Rabbis and ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Pip Cleary Last year, I was asked to speak to a group of APS and civilian women about my leadership experience in Army. Although I am currently a Commanding Officer, the imposter syndrome runs deep – and I wondered what, if anything, I could possibly offer to these women who are leaders in their fields.  It was an interesting exercise in reflection. As I wrote, I was forced to reflect on my family, on where Army was and where it has come to, and lastly to reflect on the value of the kind of leadership that I bring to our organisation.  I joined the Army straig ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Leigh-teagan Wilde “What were you like when you were my age Auntie Leigh?“ I love my nieces. With them, I get to play the very best games, and get to listen to the very best stories. The depth of their imagination and creative thinking absolutely floors me every time. At 3 and 8 years old respectively, they are spunky, driven little ladies who will take on the world one day and I’m excited to see it! Recently, they came to visit me for the summer holidays. In between adventures to Kmart (don’t judge… you love it too), park adventures and trips to the library, I got to ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes This article is the first of a new series ‘Advice I’d Give My Younger Self’.  We can all learn from each others lessons and experiences. Share your story with us today – you can find us here. Just like Kaisha. Ok, I will leave you to enjoy her raw and wonderful reflection.  Changing careers can be an incredible challenge.  Some of us weigh the pros and cons, carefully considering the imagined impact for months or years before taking the leap. Others dive in headfirst and figure it out as they go.  I went for the latter, much to everyone’s surp ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes Leigh-teagan Wilde I have some questions for all the women I serve with who happen to be mothers. Were you ready? Were you prepared? How did it change you? Did it change your leadership style? Before you scroll away, this is not an award-winning story of “girl is stubborn, girl has life-changing experience, girl is reformed”. It’s more like a headline of “Stubborn girl meets self for first time; outcome unclear, however big lessons learnt”. I’ll caveat this piece by saying that this was my personal experience. When I wrote this piece initially, I was 7 months pregnant ..read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes After three years of sharing women’s stories and insightful conversations, it is time for a new chapter. Propel Her Aus co-founders, Shamsa Lea and Lyndsay Freeman, are stepping back from their role at the helm of the initiative. They are handing over the pen to a new generation (who are our current editing team) Lily Lancaster and Leigh-Teagan Wilde who will take Propel Her forward into the future. Thank you to Clare O’Neil, the brains behind Grounded Curiosity, who supported this bold idea from its foundation and continues to provide us this space to develop and grow ..read more